Tatar has three points, Canadiens send Red Wings to another loss

MONTREAL -- Tomas Tatar had a goal and two assists, and the Montreal Canadiens extended the Detroit Red Wings' season-opening losing streak to six with a 7-3 win at Bell Centre on Monday.

Tatar had his second straight three-point game against his former team, which has lost the first six games of a season for the first time in its history (0-4-2).
"Obviously I was focusing on my team here, but it was really special to play against Detroit," Tatar said. "It's fun against my old friends, my old teammates, so it was obviously a big win."
WATCH: [All Red Wings vs. Canadiens highlights]
The 1985-86 Red Wings didn't get their first win until their 10th game, losing eight straight after tying their season opener.

"We've got to show some pride in here, enough's enough," Detroit defenseman Niklas Kronwall said. "The bottom line is we've got to be better. The bottom line is we've just got to go to work. We don't even give ourselves a chance right now. We hang our goalies out to dry, we've got backdoor tap-ins left to right. It's tough to win hockey games like that."
Tomas Plekanec became the fourth Canadiens player to score in his 1,000th NHL game, joining Henri Richard, Larry Robinson and Alex Kovalev.
"There's all the reasons in the world for him to be happy and have a real good souvenir about his 1,000th game, but he looked like a guy who had drank from the fountain of youth tonight," Montreal coach Claude Julien said.
Jonathan Drouin scored two goals, and Antti Niemi made 25 saves to win his second straight start for the Canadiens (3-1-1).

Andreas Athanasiou scored two goals, and Thomas Vanek scored on a power play for Detroit, which has been outscored 20-8 in the past three games, including an 8-2 loss at the Boston Bruins on Saturday.
Drouin made it 1-0 on a penalty shot at 7:13 of the first period after he was hooked by Red Wings defenseman Filip Hronek on a breakaway. It was his first goal of the season.
Plekanec made it 2-0 at 16:56 when his pass from the left corner went in off Hronek's stick.
"I felt like I was the only one who knew it was a goal," Plekanec said.
Athanasiou scored 28 seconds later to cut the Canadiens lead to 2-1 at 17:24.
Tatar put Montreal ahead 3-1 with nine seconds left in the first. It was his third goal in two games.

Brendan Gallagher made it 4-1 at 3:52 of the second period, and Charles Hudon scored at 4:35 to make it 5-1.
Jimmy Howard, who made 15 saves, was replaced after Hudon's goal by Jonathan Bernier, who made 14.
Drouin scored his second of the game on the power play at 15:59 to make it 6-1. Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill challenged for goaltender interference by Gallagher, but the goal was upheld by video review.
Athanasiou scored his second of the game to make it 6-2 at 7:03 of the third period, and Vanek got Detroit to within 6-3 at 10:11.
Paul Byron made it 7-3 at 18:11.

They said it

"We have a tendency when it starts to go the wrong way, we stop playing the right way and we hope for offense. And you've got to stop it now." -- Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill
"I enjoy those kind of things more kind of in my way and I don't show much emotion, but this was special, obviously. You don't have a night like that, you know, 22,000 people make that kind of reaction, so obviously it was something special to remember." -- Canadiens forward Tomas Plekanec on the ovation he received for his 1,000th NHL game

Need to know

Tatar was held without a point when he played against Detroit with the Vegas Golden Knights on March 8, 10 days after he was traded by the Red Wings after playing his first 407 NHL games for them. … Plekanec has 608 NHL points (233 goals, 375 assists), almost all with the Canadiens. He had two assists in 17 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs last season. … Drouin is the third Montreal player to score against Detroit on a penalty shot, joining Ray Getliffe (Jan. 21, 1945) and Russ Courtnall (Feb. 19, 1990). … The Canadiens have won six straight against the Red Wings, outscoring them 34-14 in those games.

What's next

Red Wings: At the Tampa Bay Lighting on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET; SUN, FS-D, NHL.TV)
Canadiens:Host the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET; SN1, RDS, FS-MW, NHL.TV)